Premio Comunicazione AI 2026

Progetti pionieristici premiati ai Social Media Days in Germania.

presentato da Ziehl-Abegg

From digital twins preserving personal memories and creative deepfake campaigns to autonomous AI agents and privacy-first applications, AI Communication Award 2026 demonstrated the breadth of practical AI already reshaping corporate communication. Presented on July 1 during Social Media Days in Germany – hosted by Ziehl-Abegg – the awards recognized five outstanding projects selected from 29 projects submitted by companies, universities and public organizations. The award-winning initiatives demonstrated how AI is transforming communication, business and society.

Ziehl-Abegg CEO Joachim Ley said:

"The conversation around AI often focuses on what may become possible tomorrow. We are far more interested in what is creating measurable value today. The AI Communication Award shines a spotlight on organizations that are applying AI responsibly, creatively and with a clear practical benefit."

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The awards were presented under the patronage of Dr. Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut, minister for Economic Affairs, Labor and Tourism of the State of Baden-Württemberg (Germany). Winners were selected by an independent jury representing academia, AI, corporate communications and marketing. The panel was chaired by AI entrepreneur Joe Keller and professor Daniel Werth of Technical University Dresden. Other members included Hannah Jeitner (SAP), Stefanie Kromer (Federal Association of Communicators), Rolf Herrmann (OMR Education), Catrin Bialek (Horizont), Corinne Nauber (Marketing Club Stuttgart-Heilbronn), Dr. Christina Blumentritt (Marketing Club Nuremberg), professor Joachim Buhmann (ETH Zurich), professor David Rygl (FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg), professor Ali Sunyaev (Technical University of Munich), professor Markus Graf (Heilbronn University) and professor Seon-Su Kim (Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University).

AI-Powered Campaigns and Storytelling

The category winner was "Michael Bommer Makes Himself Immortal" by Eternos.Life and MSI Germany. The project centers on Michael Bommer, who is living with terminal cancer and has created a digital twin designed to preserve his voice, memories and personal outlook for his family. The jury praised the project's careful balance between technological innovation and the ethical questions surrounding memory, identity and bereavement. Philip Maravilla accepted the award on behalf of Eternos.Life and MSI Germany.

Internal Communications, HR and Employee Experience

EY Austria received the award for "Deepfake with Depth – How the EY AI Boy Turned the Cyber Lab into an Internal Success Story." Using humor and deepfake technology, the campaign engaged more than 1,300 employees, strengthened cybersecurity awareness and significantly increased the visibility of EY's Cyber Lab without additional communications expenditures.

AI Strategy, Analytics and Agents in Communication

ControlExpert won this category with ClaimsPilot, an AI-powered platform orchestrating the entire claims journey from first notification through to settlement. Autonomous AI agents accelerate processing, improve productivity and enhance customer satisfaction. The award was accepted by Dr. Sebastian Schoenen.

Tools, Platforms and Infrastructure for Communication

Thomas Friese received the award for the MetaCompass Assistant Factory. The project champions European digital sovereignty by enabling organizations to develop and operate advanced AI systems while retaining full control over their data, infrastructure and governance rather than depending on external cloud platforms.

Students and Young Talent

Johannes Störlein of Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg received the Young Talent Award. His project delivers a fully local, General Data Protection Regulation-compliant AI solution supporting interview documentation in family law assessments. The application substantially reduces documentation time while ensuring transparent handling of highly sensitive personal data.

Exceptional Quality Highlighted

The AI Communication Award was presented for the third time in 2026. Professor Daniel Werth, co-chair of the jury, highlighted the exceptional quality and maturity of this year's submissions. The award aims to showcase exemplary practical applications of AI and encourage knowledge exchange between business, academia and communication professionals. The ceremony formed part of the Social Media Days in Schwäbisch Hall, a historic medieval city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg now recognized as one of southern Germany's leading forums dedicated to AI and communication.

Informazioni su Ziehl-Abegg
Ziehl-Abegg, headquartered in Künzelsau, Germany, is a leading global company in ventilation, control and drive technology. In the 1950s, Ziehl-Abegg established the basis for modern fan drives: external rotor motors that, even today, are seen as state-of-the-art globally. Another area of Ziehl-Abegg's business is electric motors that provide power for elevators or medical applications (computer tomography equipment). Ziehl-Abegg employs 3,000 personnel in its production plants in southern Germany. The company has a global workforce of 5,800 spread among 17 production plants, 30 companies and 114 sales locations. Ziehl-Abegg's approximately 30,000 products are sold in more than 100 countries. Turnover totals more than EUR 1 billion. Emil Ziehl founded the company in Berlin in 1910 as a manufacturer of electric motors. After World War II, the company's headquarters were relocated to southern Germany. Ziehl-Abegg SE is not a listed company. Rather, it is family-owned.